Technology and Digital Media in the Classroom - A PBS Survey

PBS and Grunwald Associates just released their annual teachers survey (conducted online, includes responses from 1,418 full-time teachers) and found that three-quarters of teachers reported using technology and digital media in their classrooms - a stat which is steadily increasing over the years, and up from 69 percent in 2008. And what makes this year's survey even more fascinating is that pre-K teachers — surveyed this year for the first time — have expressed the same interests in digital media and social networking as the K–12 teachers.

Some really interesting findings and stats:

• Teachers continue to use video, but they increasingly access video online, rather than from broadcast, cable or videotape;
• 44 percent of teachers use digital media 3 to 4 times a week; the number for Pre-K being a high 42 percent;
• 93 percent report that their schools have computers with Internet access, while eight in 10 (81 percent) say they have computer Internet access in their classrooms, up from 77 percent in 2008;
• Student-produced digital projects - including multimedia projects, Web sites and blogs, has become increasingly supported by teachers; and
• 59 percent of teachers use digital media to create interactive lesson plans

This last point is emphasized across the survey by teachers with 78 percent of K–12 teachers responding that digital media is more effective when it is integrated into instruction.

A lot of data in this survey and well worth the read.